Inverting the formula : devising through adaptation

Abstract

Adaptation in contemporary performance takes on different forms and engages various strategies. In this article, Frank Camilleri explores the subject in terms of compositional devising via his practice as research in the area. He considers adaptation as a process of adjustment and modification that occurs at the level of format or organization, and which results from a change in context. He proposes terminological and structural frameworks, namely types, movements, modes, and phases of adaption. These taxonomies are then subsequently exemplified through three case studies from the author's performance and pedagogical work. Frank Camilleri is Associate Professor in Theatre Studies at the University of Malta, where he is Director of the School of Performing Arts and leads P21 (Performance 21), the research centre for Twenty-first Century Studies in Performance. He is Artistic Director of Icarus Performance Project and co-edits the Routledge/Icarus ‘Theatre as a Laboratory’ series.